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On Writing Short Stories
On Writing Short Stories is a unique collection of original essays by seven professional writers. It is the only text of its kind to offer writing advice from such authors, editors, and instructors as Francine Prose, Joyce Carol Oates, Frank Conroy, Andre Dubus, Robert Coles, Tom Bailey, and
C. Michael Curtis, with a foreword by Tobias Wolff. These experts give voice--voices--to a dialogue about the art and craft of writing short stories.
Respecting writers' autonomy, On Writing Short Stories does not offer a rigidly systematic apparatus for learning to write short stories. Instead it asks what makes a short story, analyzes various aspects of craft, discusses process and revision, and also pauses to wonder why people write
short stories at all. It considers the importance of reading and of peer critique in workshops as integral components of the learning process and offers advice on how to get short stories published.
Ideal for courses and workshops in creative writing, On Writing Short Stories also includes an engaging selection of eighteen short stories, both classic and contemporary, for discussion and analysis. These stories stretch the limits of narrative fiction; reading them will help students create
a scaffolding for the short story form. Writing exercises are incorporated to help students put the craft into practice for themselves. A list of addresses and editors of magazines, journals, and quarterlies that publish short fiction is also included for writers who are ready to begin submitting
their work for consideration.
C. Michael Curtis, with a foreword by Tobias Wolff. These experts give voice--voices--to a dialogue about the art and craft of writing short stories.
Respecting writers' autonomy, On Writing Short Stories does not offer a rigidly systematic apparatus for learning to write short stories. Instead it asks what makes a short story, analyzes various aspects of craft, discusses process and revision, and also pauses to wonder why people write
short stories at all. It considers the importance of reading and of peer critique in workshops as integral components of the learning process and offers advice on how to get short stories published.
Ideal for courses and workshops in creative writing, On Writing Short Stories also includes an engaging selection of eighteen short stories, both classic and contemporary, for discussion and analysis. These stories stretch the limits of narrative fiction; reading them will help students create
a scaffolding for the short story form. Writing exercises are incorporated to help students put the craft into practice for themselves. A list of addresses and editors of magazines, journals, and quarterlies that publish short fiction is also included for writers who are ready to begin submitting
their work for consideration.
352 pages, Paperback
First published November 11, 1999
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 17, 2025
I remember this as an underwhelming text that was sustained by the usual MFA-ish platitudes ("write what ya know," "Kill your darlings," "Less is more," "Show, don't tell," "Find your voice," "Art comes from constraint," yada yada) and provided very little in terms of detailed instruction on technique nor did it venture into abstraction about the structure of narrative and properties of style.
Apart from some essays from high fliers, On Writing is largely comprised of excerpts from literary fiction pieces rather than writing about writing. Some of these excerpt are short fiction classics, but I'd characterize the lion's share of inclusion as representative of the kind of plotless, pointless, and precious fiction that is lapped up by the same literati that have functioned as the undertakers of humanistic and salient fiction.
It has been more than a decade since I've picked this one up so don't sue me if memory has forsaken me. Admittedly, at the time, I was neither well-read nor well-practiced enough to make any kind of writer myself. This book couldn't let me down then, though I'm somewhat confident it would now.
Apart from some essays from high fliers, On Writing is largely comprised of excerpts from literary fiction pieces rather than writing about writing. Some of these excerpt are short fiction classics, but I'd characterize the lion's share of inclusion as representative of the kind of plotless, pointless, and precious fiction that is lapped up by the same literati that have functioned as the undertakers of humanistic and salient fiction.
It has been more than a decade since I've picked this one up so don't sue me if memory has forsaken me. Admittedly, at the time, I was neither well-read nor well-practiced enough to make any kind of writer myself. This book couldn't let me down then, though I'm somewhat confident it would now.
July 11, 2007
If I'd ever give a "self-help" book 5 stars, this would be it. This was a very helpful book for me at a very important juncture in my writing.
You can't go wrong when you have advice from C. Michael Curtis (Fiction Editor of the most prominent publication in America) and Frank Conroy (Chairman to the most prestegious writing institute in America.) Not to mention you've got the greatest living short story writer, Tobias Wolff, penning the forward. Pay attention folks. This is the real deal. Add in some very helpful workshop activites from one Tom Bailey (only a head writing professor at Harvard) and some very heartfelt tips from a true master like Dubus... Forget about it!
You can't go wrong when you have advice from C. Michael Curtis (Fiction Editor of the most prominent publication in America) and Frank Conroy (Chairman to the most prestegious writing institute in America.) Not to mention you've got the greatest living short story writer, Tobias Wolff, penning the forward. Pay attention folks. This is the real deal. Add in some very helpful workshop activites from one Tom Bailey (only a head writing professor at Harvard) and some very heartfelt tips from a true master like Dubus... Forget about it!
July 22, 2016
Some stories are really great!
Thanks, Stanford :)
Thanks, Stanford :)
May 30, 2022
'I will tear the prose apart until I get prose sufficiently strong enough that it does not tear.'
I'll admit this: I only read the essay portion of this book, so this is not a review of the short stories included in the second half of the book.
The essays themselves were informative and surprisingly personal, which was a bonus in my mind. It was interesting to be able to compare different authors' writing processes within the same book, all the while thinking about how they compare to my own.
My only qualm with the essays is that some of them get repetitive, particularly when a lot of them cover the same topics. It is still interesting, but there is no new information given, and I found myself wondering if I had already read this section.
Aside from that, this is a great read for anyone who wants to know (more) about what it feels like to write, with a few lessons great for any beginning writer.
May 31, 2022
Most of the chapters in the first half really only offer vague and mediocre writing advice, failing to get into the meat and potatoes of diction, plotting, voice, and characterization that I was hoping for.
However, the second half of the book is a collection of some of the most famous and influential short stories of the past 100 years, so it was interesting to read through these stories and pick out why they're so highly regarded. That said, a couple were so vague and uninteresting that I had trouble understanding how they would even get published, let alone be included in a collection such as this.
However, the second half of the book is a collection of some of the most famous and influential short stories of the past 100 years, so it was interesting to read through these stories and pick out why they're so highly regarded. That said, a couple were so vague and uninteresting that I had trouble understanding how they would even get published, let alone be included in a collection such as this.
October 16, 2020
A superficial overview on short-story writing, which doesn't nearly delve as deeply into the mechanics of narrative as it needs to.
The saving grace is its inclusion of "A Father's Story," a short story that towers over the others in the collection.
The saving grace is its inclusion of "A Father's Story," a short story that towers over the others in the collection.
August 11, 2018
This is another book that I have often recommended to Creative Writing students wanting to know more about short story writing.
July 13, 2021
3.5 stars
February 20, 2025
There is a ton of useful knowledge in these pages. I feel it will become clear just how helpful it was after it sits with me for a few weeks.
June 4, 2014
What really makes this book on writing stand out are the short stories that make up the second half. If I had understood the format of some of the essays better, I would have read them first and then the essays, but it wasn't a problem.
The short stories alone are fantastic. The second edition (I think, or whatever is the most recent) especially has a great range of stories, from Maupassant to Hemingway to Junot Diaz. The essays do a fantastic job of breaking down the elements of the stories to show what makes them work so well and of using the stories to illustrate a point. And equally important, drawing on such a rich variety of sources, there's no one way to do anything -- to plot, to use language, to draw characters. The style of the authors featured varies a lot, and the essays point out the strengths of each.
Some of the essays include exercises as well. I have not actually written down answers to all (or even most) of them, but thinking through them has been very helpful.
The short stories alone are fantastic. The second edition (I think, or whatever is the most recent) especially has a great range of stories, from Maupassant to Hemingway to Junot Diaz. The essays do a fantastic job of breaking down the elements of the stories to show what makes them work so well and of using the stories to illustrate a point. And equally important, drawing on such a rich variety of sources, there's no one way to do anything -- to plot, to use language, to draw characters. The style of the authors featured varies a lot, and the essays point out the strengths of each.
Some of the essays include exercises as well. I have not actually written down answers to all (or even most) of them, but thinking through them has been very helpful.
May 14, 2010
The 2nd Part of the Book Contains Some Great Short Stories
In the first part of the book you get a decent summary on characters, plot, settings and time, metaphor and voice. There is also an attempt to define the short story, a chapter on the artist as a craftsman, on workshops, the habit of writing and why write in the first place, along with some publishing information; none of it being very inspirational for the beginning or regular writer.
What is inspiring though are the short stories that were chosen for the second part of the book, which makes the book worth buying just for those. Though you can probably find them somewhere cheaper than this book.
In the first part of the book you get a decent summary on characters, plot, settings and time, metaphor and voice. There is also an attempt to define the short story, a chapter on the artist as a craftsman, on workshops, the habit of writing and why write in the first place, along with some publishing information; none of it being very inspirational for the beginning or regular writer.
What is inspiring though are the short stories that were chosen for the second part of the book, which makes the book worth buying just for those. Though you can probably find them somewhere cheaper than this book.
January 8, 2008
This book has been really helpful in terms of thinking about character, movitation, POV, publishing, how to read other writers for instruction, etc. Most helpful is the discussion of the difference between a short story and a novel. I'm working on the short story form now and the distinction (even if it can be blurry at times) helped to solidify in my own mind just what I was doing in writing a *story*!
Great stories anthologized here, though you could probably find them all in most modern short story anthologies. It's the essays that are of most value here.
Great stories anthologized here, though you could probably find them all in most modern short story anthologies. It's the essays that are of most value here.
September 1, 2008
Amazing book with essays about what a short story is, chapters on craft, examples of the some of the best adult short stories, and a list of places that publish short stories. A very rich read.
December 22, 2010
A truly terrific book for anyone writing short stories. By pairing essays about writing with well-written stories, Bailey gives us a lot to learn from and admire. I loved it!
December 27, 2012
This was very good. I liked the use of real short stories in the book, and the essays on writing were, on the whole, useful: even to this writer of 20 years.
March 25, 2025
Good book. Great advice.
May 18, 2012
Not bad. Good primer if you don't do this already.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews